Hen Habbits?

[Egrant97]

Hello all, I posted this on another post under updates but no luck. I am wondering if this might be a better location for my question. At fiirst I thought one of the ladies was sick. In the past 2 days she has been staying in the nesting box, not sleeping on the roost and not comeing out to eat (that i saw), but then someone told us to move her as it sounded like she was trying to keep the eggs warm, hatch chicks... This sounded a little wierd to me because we do not have a rooster. So after moving her, she made a wierd gobble noise and found three eggs, three very HOT eggs. Does this make sense? do hens sometime try to keep them warm as if they were fertilized? can i eat the eggs still since they are so warm?

She is still in the nesting box and it is midnight here.....

 

[animallover505]

Yeah, it's a hormonal thing. She's broody. Give her some fertile eggs and mark them, if you want chicks

 

[Egrant97]

Well i am not sure we are ready for that, still pretty new. How long will she be going through this? Will it happen again? It would be cool if we were more prepared!

 

[animallover505]

She probably will. She'll sit for about 21 days, then get up when the eggs don't hatch. Probably.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Chickens can’t count days, eggs, chicks, anything like that. That hen could be setting on that nest for months, even if there are no eggs in the nest.

Whether the eggs are fertile or not, whether there is a rooster around or not has nothing to do with a hen going broody. I agree. It is a hormonal thing. I don’t know what triggers those hormones. Sometimes I think it’s just their imagination.

Will she go broody again? Who knows? If she goes broody once there is a chance she will again but there are certainly no guarantees with way.

Are the eggs safe to eat? Yes, there is nothing unsafe about them. If they were not fertilized they will not have developed any. Even if they had been fertilized they would be safe to eat but after a couple of days you might notice a little development. I would not eat them after a couple of days, not because they are unsafe but because of a certain Yuk! factor. But if you collect fertilized eggs daily they are fine. No development.

If you really want to hatch chicks you could still get some fertile eggs and put them under her. Many of us never give a hen eggs to hatch the instant she goes broody but wait a few days to gather the eggs and make sure she really is broody. Or you can try to break her from being broody. This thread might help.
Break a Broody Thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2176186#p2176186

 

[Egrant97]

Thanks animallover!! I found a post on "broody" Thanks for pointeing me in the right direction. I do how ever have another question. does she not eat or drink during these 21 days? I am going to try and "break" the cycle by taking her out of the nesting box and see how that goes. I only have one nesting box and don't know where her room mate is going to lay her eggs!

 

[animallover505]

She'll lay on top of her, pretty much. They get off the nest about once a day.

 

[Egrant97]

that is pretty funny, i would love to see that,

 

[emrys]

I took wire dog crate, removed the pan, put hardware cloth on the bottom and set the whole thing on saw horses. The cool air circulates under the hen and after a few days she quits growling. One more day and she is allowed back with the flock. So far that method of breaking a broody has worked well.

 

[Egrant97]

I am going to give it a shot, getting her in the cage might be a treat!! How much food/water do you leave in the cage?